Psychology Degree Jobs and Career Paths

As a psychology major, you know why people act the way they do, which can make you valuable in marketing and advertising departments. Hiring managers may see that you bring a deep understanding of human behavior, motivation, and decision-making to your work and consider you for an analytical or leadership role in marketing or advertising.

As a psychology major, you hold a deep understanding of human behavior and strong assessment and evaluation skills, making you a potentially effective human resources manager.

These professionals lead talent management departments, recruiting, training, and developing team members and managing complex interpersonal relationships. If you are interested in this career, consider specializing in industrial or organizational psychology.

A human resources specialist may work in talent acquisition, recruiting new corporate professionals, or general human resources work, such as employee relations.

Earning a psychology degree can give you the perfect blend of soft skills and scientific understanding of how people work, positioning you to enter this career. If you’re interested in working as an HR specialist, consider focusing your psychology coursework on employee or labor relations or minoring in business.

Market research analysts assess factors that affect customer purchasing decisions. Your psychology degree could give you the assessment and evaluation tools, along with the insight into customer behavior that companies need in this role.

If you plan on becoming a market research analyst, consider adding a minor in business, statistics, and research, or focusing your psychology major on research.

Training and development specialists create and execute training programs for organizations and businesses. As a psychology major, you’ll learn many of the key skills this role demands, such as how people learn, what motivates human behavior, why people change, and how to assess learning.

If you want to work in corporate training, consider fleshing out your psychology degree with coursework in communication or education.

Journalists help keep the public up to date on significant events. While many aspiring journalists pursue a communications degree, your psychology degree could also position you for this career.

Your analytical skills, combined with your knowledge about motivation and behavior, can give you unique insights into newsworthy people and events. As part of your psychology degree, you may want to take writing or public speaking courses and do an internship with a local media outlet.

Public relations specialists represent companies, schools, hospitals, or other organizations to the public. They position their organization in the best possible light for most audiences.

As a psychology major, you’ll bring strong skills in research, analysis, and communication to a public relations career. If working in public relations is your ambition, you may want to add coursework in public relations or marketing to your psychology degree.

Technical writers craft detailed information on complex and technical subjects, such as developing instructional manuals and supporting documents. These professionals may work in any industry, but they are often found in engineering or scientific fields.

With a psychology background, you should have the communication, analysis, and strategic thinking skills to be a technical writer. For this career, you may want to emphasize research and statistics as part of your psychology major.

Social and human service assistants collaborate with social workers and other community service leaders to provide support for families and neighborhoods. These professionals may work for healthcare, local government, or nonprofit community organizations.

Psychology can be an ideal major for social and human service assistants, particularly if you are considering adding on a master’s degree in social work. However, you may want to minor in political science or a related field to gain a broader social perspective.

Substance use counselors help clients with addiction disorders to modify their thinking and behavior in order to lead more fulfilling lives. Depending on their state and scope of practice, these counselors may need a master’s degree and licensure. However, many states allow you to do limited substance use counseling with a bachelor’s degree.

Since psychology is the study of human behavior, it directly points to a career in substance use counseling. Adding the appropriate master’s degree or licensure could quickly get you employed in this fast-growing field.

While psychologists treat various mental health conditions, they differ from psychiatrists in that they cannot prescribe medication in most states. Instead, they typically assess and diagnose mental health conditions, create treatment plans, and offer treatment through counseling and support programs.

The largest psychologist employers include schools, healthcare services, and the government. Psychologists are also commonly self-employed in private practice.

School psychologists work closely with students, teachers, and administrators to improve schools. They help students manage behavioral or educational issues while implementing programs to address school-wide issues. School psychologists need a master’s degree or doctorate; most states also require a state-issued license to work in public schools.

Industrial-organizational psychologists specialize in workplace issues, including employee retention, recruitment, training, and motivation. They use psychological principles to help organizations improve their human resources and administrative processes.

These psychologists work in diverse business settings and require a master’s degree. Most states and employers do not require industrial-organizational psychologists to hold licensure.

Marriage and family therapists help couples and families overcome various challenges. They assist clients using talk therapy and behavioral intervention strategies and provide access to different services and resources. These therapists usually work in family services, health practitioner offices, and outpatient centers.

School counselors and advisors assist students and their families with various educational issues and challenges. They may help students enter behavioral or educational support programs, educate and advise students, or assist learners in identifying postsecondary pathways. Most counselors work in elementary or secondary schools and junior colleges. School counselors often need a background in education and certification.

Forensic psychologists use their knowledge and skills in psychology to serve the community through civil or criminal justice. They may testify as expert witnesses, provide insight into offenders’ motivations, or design programs for behavior modification in correctional systems.

Generally, you need a four-year degree in psychology plus a master’s degree to do forensic or correctional counseling. To work directly with high-needs incarcerated individuals, you would need a Ph.D. or Psy.D.

Mental health counselors support individuals and groups in managing psychological conditions, including anxiety and depression. They may help couples work on relationship problems or counsel individuals on emotional and behavioral issues. To practice, mental health counselors need a state-issued license and a master’s degree.

Postsecondary teachers instruct classes in their specialization, conduct research, and publish their work in the field. Most psychology professors work in private and state colleges and universities. Among all teaching disciplines, psychology ranks among the 10 largest.

High schools need psychology teachers. In this role, you develop curriculum, provide instruction, and assess student learning. You may also serve on school committees and participate in student life.

In addition to a psychology major, you need a teaching license, which you can acquire with a secondary education minor or through an alternative certification program in your state.

A research psychologist conducts research on human behavior, motivation, and development. They may seek to answer questions such as: Does multitasking impair working memory performance in adults aged 25-40? How does childhood trauma affect brain development?

Research psychologists could work in universities, laboratories, or government agencies. Becoming a research psychologist requires a bachelor’s degree plus a doctorate in psychology and state licensure.